While the antics and debauches of his bands and crew were legendary and the subject of many songs (Mudshark, Latex Solar Beef) and at least one album cover (Over-nite Sensation), the man himself didn't use anything stronger than coffee and cigarettes, and while on the job demanded complete professionalism as well as wicked chops from his musicians, even the ones who had spent the previous evening filming closeups of a blow-up doll with a mouth full of tadpoles. I'm not enough of a composer to comment on his later orchestral works, but I'll say that despite a penchant for melodically and rhythmically turning on a dime within songs, Zappa et al produced some of the grooviestrock'n'roll ever committed to vinyl. Listen to Andy or Pajama People on One Size Fits All, for example.

Zappa’s musical career began in high school as a drummer in local garage bands and the school marching band. Zappa’s life and musical tastes changed in 1954, when he read a Look Magazine story about the Sam Goody record chain, which cited its ability to sell such “weird” music as “The Complete Works of Edgar Varese, Vol. One”. When Zappa finally found a copy, he embraced its avant-garde sound. It was then that the musical mix of influences began. Zappa was just as deeply influenced by Howlin’ Wolf and the Orioles as Bach, Varese and Webern.

The Mothers were disbanded in 1970, when Zappa “got tired of playing for people who clap for all the wrong reasons” (Frank Zappa Biography). And while there had always been much caustic wit in his lyrics, ''Road Ladies'' (released in 1970) began a string of scatologically humorous songs that would lead many critics and to dismiss his work. Among these songs were “Dinah-Moe Humm” (about a woman who claimed she couldn't reach orgasm), “Illinois Enema Bandit”, and 1974’s “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” (Hall of Records). During this time period, Zappa’s reputation dwindled in the eyes of many to the level of a “fringe artist” who wrote perverse songs; however, his critics often failed to acknowledge the musical talent behind the “dirty” lyrics. On the other hand, “Don’t eat the Yellow Snow” turned out to be Zappa’s first hit single after a radio DJ cut it from 10 minutes to three and played it on the air). By the late 70’s and early 80’s Zappa’s style began to shy away from the scatological humor in albums such as “Joe’s Garage” (which was a musical narration of certain homosexual activities), and moved more toward intellectually questioning the nature of musical criticism and modern culture (such as the album “Does Humor Belong in Music?”, released in 1986)(The Real Frank Zappa Homepage). Zappa’s few “hits” during this time included: 1979’s “Dancin’ Fool” satirizing disco, and 1982’s “Valley Girl” which satirized California’s shopping mall culture (which included the voice of his then-14-year-old daughter, Moon Unit)(The Real Frank Zappa Homepage).

In September of 1992, Zappa recorded one of his most successful, creative and respected musical ventures. Through a connection with Andreas Mollich-Zebhauser, Zappa was introduced to a contemporary music group called Ensemble Modern (EM). Zappa had worked with other orchestras such as the London and Los Angeles Philharmonics; however, many of the projects had gone awry due to inadequate rehearsal, restrictive union policies, or politics. But despite his bad experiences in dealing with orchestras, Zappa agreed to work with the EM after hearing a them play pieces by Kurt Weill and Helmut Lechenmann. The project began in July of 1991 when the EM flew to L.A. at it’s own expense to rehearse with Zappa, their composer. Unlike his past experiences with orchestras, Zappa was pleased with the Ensemble member’s attitudes and motivation during rehearsals (The Yellow Shark).

Zappa then sampled each of the eighteen players range of sounds, then programmed them into his Synclavier (an electronic instrument that aides the composition of music) (Synclavier). Using this method, Zappa could compose and hear pieces of music that would be extremely difficult for an actual human musician to play (The Yellow Shark).

Frank Zappa, whether as a rock musician, a political defender of First Amendment Rights, or a classical composer has influenced American culture in innumerable ways. For example, The Mothers of Invention’s first album “Freak Out” was the first double album ever made. To many, Zappa remains an experimenter, a "fringe artist," or worse, "60's drug music” Zappa's mentor, Edgar Varese, summed it up when he broke free of all stereotype and called himself "One-all alone” (Tribute to the Great Wazoo). Zappa was precisely that, an individual; an individual who’s vast knowledge of many different genres of music and unwillingness to allow his (or any other recording artists) work to be mindlessly censored led him to become a true American legend.

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The high/low-point of the battle with the PMRC was when the Zappa album "Jazz from Hell" was immediately labelled with a "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics" sticker as a knee-jerk reaction by the group and thus banned from Wal-Mart and other such evilchain-stores, despite being an entirely instrumental album. A strong argument against this type of censorship as it shows just how ill-informed the reasoning behind it actually is.

For those of us who enjoy creating, Zappa is easy to appreciate. Writing, painting, composing, and programming are the types of activities that attract people who do for the sake of doing. The concept that you can make a living doing something you enjoy is one of the greatest freedoms to emerge from modern culture. Zappa embraced this freedom and in the process created an astonishing discography spanning four decades. Yet the most inspiring thing is that he never really 'got lucky.' Zappa earned everything he got. Us commoners can relate to him because he never became part of the entertainment machine that really hit its stride during his career. He massaged a loyal cult following through pure musical creativity (too purely creative for the common listener). Thefewhits Zappa had during the 70s and 80s set him up for life because didn't strive for a rock star lifestyle. He made necessary business decisions, but was never forced to water down his music. Whether popular musicians have sold out is the omnipresentconundrum in an MTV age, but with Zappa there's no need to ask.

Zappa was goofy. His lyrics provide the first (and often only) impression to new listeners everywhere. In fact, I think it's safe to say most folks can't get over the lyrics, they either find them offensive or too goofy to listen to seriously. Zappa said once that he only put the lyrics there because people want lyrics. He got in a fair amount of hot water from various sources over allegations of racism and sexism in his lyrics. To Zappa, the idea that avoiding certain socially unacceptable stereotypes would prevent one from being a racist was absurd. He did not express contempt or superiority to any groups of people, he just wrote very descriptive narratives. Sure he made fun of almost everyone, but the fact that his accusers often came from the latently-racist power structure of America seems more than a bit ironic.

Zappa's witty clear-spoken manner seems to often have an inflammatory effect, not because of his words themselves, but because of the strong images and arguments they evoke. Whether listening to interviews, reading courtroom transcripts, or reading his books, I am consistently awed at how deep Zappa's worldview is. Maybe it's just personal bias. I love what the man stood for, and how he stated it. Though his witticisms and sardonic humour have been under-appreciated by the under-informed, I think history will cast Zappa in the light of the real power of his ideas. The power of truthfulobservation and pure creativity.